Mark Bass, one of the most prolific shooters in Saint Joseph's history, is the veteran among the Hawks’ assistant coaches. He is now entering his 19th season at his alma mater and is the longest tenured assistant coach in SJU men’s basketball history.

Bass joined the Hawks' staff in 1999-2000 and during his tenure, has been involved with teams that have made six consecutive post-season appearances, won five Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and captured the 2016 and 2014 A-10 titles. Nine years after he led the Hawks to the NIT Final as a player in 1996, Bass again helped SJU reach New York City and the NIT Final as a coach in 2005.

In 2005, Bass was honored with the William J. Bennett Memorial Award, recognizing dedication and loyalty to the Saint Joseph's men's basketball program. He was a co-recipient of the award with then-fellow staff member Monté Ross.

A fiery leader on the court, and two-year team captain, Bass led the Hawks to the NIT Finals in his senior season, 1995-96, and ranked second on the team with his average of 14.3 points per game. He connected for school records of 91 3-pointers and 268 attempts, season marks which were later eclipsed by Pat Carroll in 2005. A Second Team All-Big 5 selection in 1996, Bass made 225 three-pointers during his career from 1992-96, a total that now ranks sixth on the Hawks’ all-time list. As a freshman, the guard led the Atlantic 10 Conference in free throw percentage with a school-record 86.9 percent, a mark which was broken by Langston Galloway in 2011-12 (88.7). Bass also led the A-10 in three-point percentage as a junior (.423), making him just the second Saint Joseph’s player to lead the league in two different categories.

In 2001, Bass became the first member of the 1996 NIT Finalist team to be inducted into the Saint Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Upon graduation he played one season of professional basketball with the Tianjin Breakers in the Chinese Professional League in 1996-97. Following that, he served two seasons (1997-99) as an assistant coach under Max Good at Maine Central Institute, helping guide the team to back-to-back New England Prep School Championships, including a perfect 35-0 season in 1997-98.

A 1991 graduate of McCorristin High School in New Jersey and native of Trenton, Bass was named the Mercer County Player of the Year as a senior and set the all-time scoring record with 1,482 points in his career. He played for one year at Maine Central Institute, helping the squad to a 27-1 record with the lone loss coming in the New England Prep School Championship game. He was inducted into the Mercer County CYO Hall of Fame in November, 2004.

Bass resides with his wife, Tracie, and their two young sons, James Noel and Jordan Richard, in Lawnside, N.J.